Page 21 of The Fight For Survival

"Mia, what happened?" she talks through her sobs, and between the music and her uncontrollable crying, I can't make out a damn thing she is saying. I look at Kane for an explanation, but he is too busy looking at his handy work on my face. He seems stunned by my appearance. Was he not awake when he was causing these injuries? I send him a tight-lipped smile, "yeah, I know," I say in response to his assessment of my face.

He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. I know he went through some sort of trauma tonight, so I spare him. "Apology accepted. Now, what is wrong with Mia?" I ask urgently, holding the back of Mia's head, massaging it soothingly. Kane shakes his head, looking like he is done with this night, and walks away, shoulders slumped. Thanks, man, big help.

I decide to take her into Zoe's room because it's the only room with a lock. It's quiet, and no one will be able to come in. I guide her to the little cozy sitting area by the window, sitting her on the chair. I pull the other one close and sit down facing her. Leaning forward, I take Mia's hands in mine. "Talk to me, sweetheart. What happened?" Mia opens her mouth and tells me how she kept Cade in the dark about the day Kane left.

I gape at her, surprised because I didn't think there were any secrets between those two. And one this big at that? Yeah, kind of a shock. In a way, I understand where Mia is coming from. She was angry and wanted Cade to feel the same way. But I can see why Cade would be feeling hurt by this. All that anger and unanswered questions had been playing on a loop in his head for five years, and Mia had a little more information than she was sharing. He's going to feel betrayed by that.

Not wanting to make Mia feel any more shitty than she already does, I squeeze her hands and reassure her, "Cade will calm down and see that you didn't mean to hurt him like this. He just needs a bit of time." I watch as a single tear slides down her cheek. Reaching out with a trembling hand, I wipe it away with my thumb, admiring how soft her skin feels under my rough fingers. She leans into my hand, causing my breath to hitch and my heart to skip.

The devastation in her eyes slays me as she whispers brokenly, "I don't think he'll forgive me for this, Braylon. I really hurt him." Sliding my hand around the back of her neck, squeezing gently, I murmur, "he'd be an idiot not to forgive you, sweetheart. You are a rare beauty in this fucked up world, and if he lets you go, there's no hope for any of us." I get lost in the feel of her small neck in my hand, her damp hair a soft whisper across my knuckles.

I pull her in closer, and she rests her forehead against mine. Her vanilla scent with a hint of rain overwhelms my senses. "I'd forgive you. If you were mine," I say with honesty. Mia sucks in a sharp breath at that and pulls away slightly to look at me. I look at her lush soft lips and back to her green eyes. She glances at my lips in return, and we seem to gravitate toward each other.

At the slightest brush of her lips against mine, I know I'm done for. There's no way I will get over her now. I want this girl, and I'm the worst friend in the world, but as I pull her in further and claim her lips with mine. I can't seem to find it in me to care.

Her soft moan causes my cock to stiffen and press against my jeans, begging me to let it get to her. I tease her lips open with my tongue, and she opens her mouth willingly, causing me to growl and slip my tongue into her mouth. She meets me halfway, and our tongues tangle in a wet fight for dominance. Suddenly pulling her onto my lap, a need to have her closer, I groan when her jean-clad pussy rubs up against my hardness.

My groan seems to pull her out of the moment because she pulls back and covers her mouth, eyes wide in shock. "Oh my god! What am I doing?" she pushes off my lap and runs towards the bedroom door. "Mia, wait!" I shout desperately, getting up to stop her. "No, don't, Braylon," she holds her hand out, stopping me. "I'm really sorry. I just can't do this." She's out the door before I can apologize, and I'm left feeling like a piece of shit.

In serious need of a drink, I leave the bedroom and enter the kitchen in search of a beer. "Braylon! why did Mia just run out of my house like her ass was on fire?" Zoe asks, stumbling into the kitchen, Jake hot on her heels.

Zoe is three sheets to the wind. I pop the cap off my beer and take a large drink. "I don't want to talk about it," I growl. Jake gives me a knowing look, a hint of disappointment on his face, but I scowl at him before downing the rest of my beer and popping the cap of a second one. "Have you seen Damon?" Zoe asks, obviously too drunk to care much about Mia.

Jake's turn to scowl, "why do you want to know whereheis?" He spits.

"I want round two of his monster cock," she smirks his way. Wrong move.

"The fuck did you just say? Tell me you didn't have sex with that man. You don't even know him!" Jake has murder in his eyes. "Where is he?" he growls, looking at me.

If Jake finds Damon tonight, there might be a fight. I kind of like Damon and don't want to see him get beaten up because he fucked the wrong woman. I know he is around here somewhere, but I tell Jake, "I think he stayed at Noxious." Jake storms off, Zoe stumbling after him. This has been the weirdest weekend.

Damon

KanefindsmeinZoe's Kitchen, digging around in her refrigerator for a decent beer. "Hey D, we need to go," he comes up to me, nodding towards the door like I'm just going to follow him like a dog. Raising my eyebrows at him, I close the fridge door.

Besides his tired appearance, he seems to be doing okay after whatever happened earlier. "Why would I do that? It's a cool party, man," I laugh as a woman lies herself down on Zoe's kitchen island in just her underwear. Two men grab a bottle of tequila each and start the process of pouring body shots on the girl's hot little body. Kane scowls, not in the least bit impressed. Moody fucker. "We need to leave town," he goes on. "We had the fight. We've been paid, right?"

Shit, I completely forgot to update him. "Uh, well, about that," I wince, getting ready for the shit storm about to take place. "The manager said that the bosses want to see you. They want to take you on as a permanent fighter for Noxious." Kane's eyes widen, and he starts shaking his head. "No. No fucking way can I stay here permanently!" striding over to me, ignoring the woman's high-pitched moans.

He grabs my shirt between his fists, pulling me forward. It would have been frightening if I didn't know the man so well. The dude is just expressive. He loves me, really. "You told them that, right? That it was just for one night?" He looks panic-stricken, causing guilt to hit me as I reply. "Well, I did," he loosens his grip in relief. "Until they made an offer, you'd be stupid to ignore." His eyes meet mine and narrow. "But you ignored it, right? Because you know that there isn't an offer they could throw my way that would keep me here."

I look down at our feet. Shit. "It was a hundred thousand dollars upfront and then a ten thousand for every win, man," he seems surprised by that amount, and he should be. Underground fighting does pay well, but it's never been that good. Not for us, at least. Shaking his head, probably to clear the dollar signs from his eyes, he whispers, "you didn't. Please tell me you didn't accept."

Fuck why didn't I talk to him about this first? I'm a fucking idiot, that's why. "I took the contract tonight for you-" I didn't get to finish because I had Kane's fist coming towards my face, hitting me in the mouth. Fuck, that hurts.

A lot.

Holding my mouth, feeling the tingle as my bottom lip swell, I look at him in disbelief.

He just hit me.

"You fucking idiot!" he shouts, causing people to stop what they are doing, hoping to see a fight. Damn, they might get one. "Kane, it's everything you ever wanted," I try to reason with him. "You're at the top now. You won't get an offer better than that."

He looks at me in disgust. "What happened to the whole 'he hasn't been himself since coming back, and I'm getting him out of town' shit you were spouting off to Cade earlier?" He fumes, "Money is more important than loyalty, right?" I take a step forward, "you know it's not like that, Kane. This was for you!" I plead, trying to get him to understand.

"You know I would never have agreed to stay here, D. How could you do this to me?" With that, he walks out, the people around him giving him a wide berth. I lift my head to the ceiling, breathing heavily. I think I really fucked up this time.

After that epic mess up, I didn't want to return to our apartment, thinking I'd give Kane some space to calm down. I can explain to him tomorrow that I have the contract for him, but nothing has been signed. If he doesn't want to take this opportunity, he doesn't have to.